Wide Open Blue
by Lost-Remembrance
Summary: Duo Maxwell, after eating the Shadow Shadow Fruit, has finally set out to realize his dream and become King of the Pirates! First though he needs the perfect crew. AU One Piece fusion.
1. Gathering the Crew: Yuy

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or One Piece.

Summary: Duo Maxwell, after eating the Shadow Shadow Fruit, has finally set out to realize his dream and become King of the Pirates! First though he needs the perfect crew. AU

**Wide Open Blue**

The Shinigami Crew:

Chapter One

Heero Yuy leaned his head back against the cool railing of the ship. He closed his eyes, blocking out the sounds of the squabble and noise of his companions and thought about how he landed in the situation that he did. A pirate. Who would have ever thought he would end up becoming one.

He had been locked up in a Marine prison. The commander, a lecherous idiot, had demanded Heero's allegiance. He was infamous across the world, his skills near unrivaled. However, despite his notoriety, he was a hard man to find. He was constantly moving around from place to place. He had taken up bounty hunting in order to pay for his expenses. He hadn't managed to make his way back to his home after he had wandered away on a mission. Some would say he was directionally challenged. He punched those.

Duo Maxwell was a determined pirate. He had convinced (more like forced) Heero to join him on his quest to the Grand Line. He was determined to become King of the Pirates. "Your skills will totally be able to help me! You're joining my crew!" Eventually he learned of Duo's abilities that gave him the infamous name of Shinigami. He ate the forbidden Devil Fruit. He said it was Shadow Shadow Fruit. He was a Shadow Man. Who would have thought.

From there, the two pirates had expanded their crew. Relena had been next, a skilled navigator who stole from pirates. At first, her presence in the crew was tentative. Heero refused to trust the lass, especially with her various money-scheming plots. She was not above using him or the other crew members to her own advantage. When Duo and the crew had saved her village and liberated the island from a vicious gang of pirates, Relena accepted the crew and even if not verbally spoken, gave her allegiance to the crew.

Wufei was a prideful man, shunned from his village because of his temper that landed him in numerous hot situations. His katana was his pride, but he was very easily mislead or manipulated by his temper. Many times Duo had set off the temperamental man. How they managed to convince the man, who held a strict view of Justice, to become a dog of the sea, Heero wasn't quite sure. Despite the volatile relationship between him and the Captain, there was a mutual companionship. Underneath his actions, there was no denying that Wufei accepted the crew. He would often fight with Relena and aggravate the stubborn woman by insulting her sex, but the banter rarely caused rifts or sore wounds.

Trowa had been the next one they collected. Duo had decided their crew needed a certain amount of people. Relena had been the first as a navigator. Between two directionally challenged men that aimlessly wandered the seas, finding someone to guide them to the Grand Line had been essential. Duo was a man who knew good food when he tasted it. He always had a bottomless stomach, even as a child. When he tasted Trowa's food on a floating restaurant, it was love at first bite. Since then, he had set his mind on making Trowa a part of his crew. Just as he had done with the other crewmembers, he had badgered Trowa into submission.

Quatre then had wandered into their group when one of the crew fell ill. His skill as a doctor and kind heart instantly let him fit in with the crew. His warm smiles and social personality buffered the stark differences between the eccentric Captain and much of the crew. Trowa had taken to protecting the young fair-haired boy. The two had quickly become fast friends with a silent understanding between the two of them.

"Heero!" Heero blinked his eyes open at the sound of his name being called. He raised an eyebrow in question as he looked at the one calling his name. It was Duo. "Lena says that there's an island on the horizon! We're gonna go there!"

"I never said that, Duo!" Relena sighed from the helm.

"Set a course, Lena! Head for that island! I smell adventure!" Heero smirked as Relena huffed at the statement but obliged nonetheless. This was eerily familiar and happened too many times to count.

The dark haired youth wrapped an arm around his three Gundanium swords and leaned back once more. The warm sun and salty sea breeze combined with the gentle rocking of the ship made it easy to drift once more. He had best rest while he could. The Shinigami Crew, as they had been dubbed by the Marines, had a strange affinity of attracting trouble to them, no matter where they went.

"Land ho!" Quatre gleefully cried on the ship, leaning over the bow to get a better look. And so it began…

TBC


	2. Gathering the Crew: Maxwell

Gathering the Crew: 1

Duo Maxwell may run and hide but he never told a lie. He said that he was going to become the King of the Pirates, and gosh darnit he meant it! Chance—though many blamed it on his stomach—led him to have powers after eating the Devil's Fruit. He never would forget the day he discovered he had the ability to manipulate shadows and travel through them. They certainly came in handy during sticky situations.

As a street urchin, he was left to fend for himself most of the time. The day that he wandered across a gangly blonde haired boy was one he would never forget. Until that day, he had simply made up names for himself on a day-to-day basis. When he met Solo, he found a best friend and partner. He became Duo.

It was Solo who inadvertently made him long to become a pirate. The older boy filled the young child's head with fantastic stories about codes and morale between the dogs of the sea. Their swashbuckle adventures and carefree lifestyle pulled Duo like a moth towards flame. He didn't bother trying to resist.

Then, after the two had been taken in by the nearby church, disaster struck. They called it the Maxwell Church Massacre. None in the village would ever forget it, yet few spoke of it. Father Maxwell and Sister Helen had been caring for and housing some wounded pirates. Those well enough to speak told Duo stories about their journey. The navy got wind of the church's hospitality towards criminals and fugitives. The fact that they were a church and followed their own rules meant nothing to Commander Tuberov. It was a slaughterhouse. The nun's were shot down as they tried to shield other orphans. Father Maxwell was the first to die. Tuberov shot him point blank in the head as the man of God tried to reason with the military. Helen quickly gathered the wayward brunette as he stared with wide eyes out the window at the still body of Father Maxwell. She quickly bundled him up, swiped some coins from the swear jar, and shoved him out the nearby delivery door. "Run Duo, and don't look back!" He was a zombie and her words commanded his actions. He ran into the nearby woods. He looked back only once to see the church ablaze. Duo was the only survivor.

The sound of his soul breaking was masked by his tortured cries up to the night sky.

"_Hey Duo, that's a pretty cool trick you got there! That will definitely come in handy when you're in a tricky situation!" Solo grinned. "Like if Sister Helen comes looking for you for skiving on your chores again!"_

"_Aw, don't worry I promise not to tell!" _

"_Duo, if you wanna be a pirate, that's all fine and dandy but you gotta promise me one thing. If you're gonna be a pirate, then you've got to be the best one that you can be."_

"_Why would you ever want to be a pirate? I mean, not to discourage you—but you sink faster than an anchor! I guess that's your curse, huh?"_

"_Yeah, I understand. Duo, if anyone can become king of the pirates, it's you!"_

"Solo…" Tears pooled in his eyes but refused to fall. He looked up at the sky with a grin, "You'll see—I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" He whooped and pumped his fist in the air.

It had been ten years since the massacre. He had refused to cut his hair since Sister Helen had braided it so lovingly. He wore clothing similar to that of a priest—which often caused a few mix-ups at various cities he had traveled to thus far. His little dingy was rocking gently in the waves. Duo leaned back, looking at the black sails on his ship. He had scraped together every credit he had to purchase a special set of sails. He borrowed a boat, rigged up his new sails, and took off onto the wide blue sea.

"Now I've just got to get me a crew." He grinned as he leaned back, hands resting behind his head. "Hopefully the wind will blow me somewhere soon! The sooner I get a crew, the sooner I can get a bigger ship! Little Scythe won't be enough to brave the Grand Line!"

The boat continued on her uncharted course. The wind propelled her forward, carting her to a new unknown destination. Duo had an excited twist in his stomach. He wasn't sure what it was, but for some reason he felt an unexplainable sense of anticipation. Something was going to happen soon. What it was exactly, that he was unsure of.

TBC


End file.
